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Illek
Appearance: We still need a sketch. They look a whole lot like the above image, although with more tentacles and colored differently, and with five brain portions instead of three Metroid innard-things. Skin is transparent lime green and tentacles/innards range between azure and purple-blue. The simple eyes are clearly luminescent but the compound eye glows only faintly. Biology: Illek are multicellular organisms, but their cells behave differently from most other known multicellular species. Not all cells have nuclei. "Base cells" or "stem cells" have nuclei and separate off to form other types of cells as needed. Most other cells do not have nuclei, and some have no membrane-bound organelles. Those with nuclei are typically longer-lived, and those without nuclei are more frequently replaced. The Illek body is composed of an outer membrane, a five-part nerve center, twelve internal tentacles, and a variety of tiny, free-floating organs including two simple eyes and one omnidirectional compound eye. They reproduce asexually but can transmit or share genetic material with other members of the species. Illek feed by photosynthesis and must take on ammonia from time to time similarly to the way humans must drink water. Illek have a unique odor caused by the ammonia fumes they give off. Like carbon dioxide from human breath, these fumes must be filtered out of the ambient atmosphere by life support systems lest they become toxic. Notably, the Illek can survive much higher concentrations of these fumes than most oxygen-breathers can. Illek can produce and sense sound through four specialized "tympanum" portions of their outer membrane which they can reposition at will. Additionally, Illek warriors may grow biological armor plates on the outside of their membrane. Individual plates may be repositioned at will, but reshaping a plate takes a matter of hours. The outer membrane is composed of large prokaryotic cells laced with stem cells and eukaryotic "shaping cells" which resize the membrane cells around them in response to neural stimuli. The outer membrane of most Illek will close small breaks or puncture wounds almost instantly without leaking much of their cytoplasm. Large lacerations tend to be very lethal, however. Illek frequently one or two lose small organs and a dangerous amount of cytoplasm before a large laceration or cut can close. Whether this incapacitates the Illek in question depends on individual constitution and willpower. Warriors have been known to continue fighting after receiving two or three such wounds. Each tentacle contains muscular, nervous, and circulatory tissue. Only the brain and tentacles contain closed circulatory vessels. Piercing attacks lucky enough to strike a circulatory vessel are lethal, but not necessarily deadly. Such a wound will result in blood leaking into the cytoplasm, and will weaken the victim greatly if the bleeding is severe enough. A severed tentacle is frequently deadly unless the end can be cauterized. Aiding a bleeding wound is nearly impossible without use of a laser cauterizing device. Illek anatomy allows the species to reconfigure their bodies at will into a variety of forms. One or more tentacles are often extended inside of a pseudopod to form a limb-like structure. To increase the strength of a limb or add more digits, an Illek will add more tentacles to it. It is typical for Illek to mimic other species body configuration to use their technology more conveniently. Illek have even been seen to use battle armor designed for humans with modifications to the gloves. A typical humanoid configuration (used to access human facilities conveniently) uses three tentacles in each of the four limbs. Another uses one for each "leg" to prop the creature upright in a chair and five in each "arm" to provide ten "fingers." One possible Aurian-like configuration uses one tentacle per "leg" and three per "arm." Some configurations use one or more tentacles as a "neck" with sensory organs and sometimes one or more nerve centers at the end. Illek also have several traditional forms of their own which are practiced for both artistic (e.g. dance, Tai-Chi-like forms) and practical reasons (e.g. combat, labor, comfort). The Illek brain/nerve centers can be divided or combined at will in five portions. Positioning of the brain parts within the body has little or no effect on their actual function. Many combat configurations prefer to separate them as much as possible to reduce overall vulnerability, while others concentrate them behind armor. If two or more parts are significantly damaged, almost any Illek will be incapacitated. Many will be incapacitated by pain if even one nerve center is struck or pierced. DNA-sharing is common among Illek and has little social significance. In most cases it is purely practical, although sharing desirable genetic traits is seen as a friendly gesture. Occasionally, Illek will charge money for sharing rare traits, although this is generally viewed as Scrooge-esque. It is normally performed by skin contact, although DNA can be transferred artificially. There is sometimes a small risk of transferring defects as well, although showing some discretion in who one shares DNA with or from greatly mitigates this risk. Culture: Illek are highly appreciative of performing and martial arts, and have a far higher propensity for both than most other species. Being able to form sharp bends in pseudopods is a matter of athletic ability, similar to human flexibility. Illek possess wonderful actors, acrobats, and martial artists, all of which practice mimicry of other species' forms. Martial arts are an integral part of Illek culture. The Illek practice many styles of martial arts, each of which is practiced in a particular body configuration. Warrior Illek are capable of growing hard plates on their bodies. These take some hours to reshape, but may be repositioned on the body at will. It is popular to use a number of segmented plates that can be moved easily into a variety of shapes. Plates can be separated and dropped, although doing so is uncomfortable. Not all warriors use biological armor, however. Some configure themselves into armor and equipment meant for other species, although only a small minority actually use this practice in battle. Other-species equipment is most frequently used in a traditional sport called "transform-sparring," in which two Illek take on the form, armor, and simulated weapons of different species and engage in point-based sparring matches. Humanoid form is very popular in transform-sparring. Interestingly, humanoid-configuration Illek are often more agile and acrobatic than humans themselves. The preferred humanoid configuration for combat places two tentacles in each "arm" and four in each "leg," or occasionally transfers one tentacle from left leg to the right arm for increased dexterity and strength. Illek performing arts revolve around two major genres: forms/dancing and mimicry/acting. Forms/dancing may use any body configuration, and many body configurations are practiced merely for aesthetic value. Mimicry/acting may include (often very convincing) costumes, and a skilled Illek actor in a quality costume can often deceive members of a species into thinking the Illek is one of their own. Illek actors act out drama, act in movies, and exhibit their skill in mimicking dance and other performing arts of different species. While individual Illek typically have one or more favorite body configurations, their tremendous motor memory allows them to achieve a high level of skill in multiple styles of martial arts or dance within one, several, or many configurations. Most Illek are very dextrous regardless of current configuration, and are only marginally more dextrous in their favorite configuration(s). As Illek have only a single gender, most do not care whether someone refers to them as "he," "she," or even "it." However, a very small minority find "it" offensive as neuter pronouns are typically used for non-living objects. It is common for humans to refer to Illek with male pronouns as most (though not all) Illek strike them as masculine in disposition and mannerisms. Maturity, Education and Lifespan Illek reach physical maturity after about 8 years and mental maturity around 12 years of age, at which point they reach legal adulthood. Lifepspan varies more dramatically than species that reproduce sexually, with Illek dying of natural causes anywhere between 40 and 130 years of age depending on how healthy their genetics are. Many Illek choose to produce offspring between 13 and 16 years of age, although those with longer life expectancy sometimes wait much longer. Not all Illek choose to reproduce, and some choose to parent multiple children. Illek population generally grows slowly, although they are capable of explosive population increase. The Illek gestation period is only three months, and the helpless period of infancy is only about two, after which point an Illek child can move and perform all bodily functions unaided. On rare occasion, a single Illek parent may produce ten offspring in only three years, but caring for ten amorphous children at once is said to be quite a task indeed. Illek children begin and end their education much sooner than humans because their cognitive functions mature sooner. However, adult Illek have no learning advantage compared to adult humans. Most Illek children begin school at age 3 and continue until age 10. During this time they receive the same baseline education as humans, but often with the addition of traditional performing or martial arts training from the parent. Most spend their remaining adolescent years in intense study of traditional martial or performing arts. At age 12, a young adult Illek may attend a vocational school or college, or begin a profession. Those with long life expectancies are more likely to spend several more years on education. There are many exceptions, however, Mindset and Philosophy: The general mindset of the Illek is very logical and sequential. This is apparent in various aspects of life. Illek forms and dance frequently exhibit sequential patterns leading into one another from beginning to end. Illek martial arts emphasize analyzing and manipulating an opponent's fighting style to achieve victory. A plurality of Illek ascribe to a very simple belief known as Simple Intelligent Cause Theory. Proponents of this theory assume the existence of a singular, impersonal, and immaterial intelligent "Force" or "Mind" that programmed the laws of logic and mathematics and sparked the universe's existence, making it the final "cause" in an infinitely continuing cycle of cause and effect relationships. Anything beyond this simple assumption is left to science. Simple Intelligent Causationists tend to be moral relativists. The second-largest philosophical movement among Illek is the Extrapolated Intelligent Cause Theory, which asserts that by extension of the laws of logic, there exists a simple moral absolute: To seek the betterment and happiness of all sentient beings is good, and to seek their harm or dissatisfaction (except in case of self-defense or disciplinary action) is evil. Opinions on how this absolute applies to details of everyday life often vary. A small minority (about 12%) of Illek hold other worldviews.